We All Need Saving
by Imidgery
Summary: I know there's got to be some peace in me But I can't find it I get so sick of looking Happiness straight from the bottle When real life's too hard to swallow (Happiness by Three Days Grace) What if life got better for Helga? But worse for Arnold? What if...for once... Helga did the saving? I do not own Hey Arnold
1. Chapter 1: The Future

Arnold stumbled into the living room of the boarding house and plopped down onto the couch, fumbling with the remote to turn on the TV. He finally managed to turn it on and some big MMA fight was going on.

It was just about over and the typical narrator was yelling with every move. Everything on the screen was a blur for him.

_"OH! A NICE HIT! DOWN GOES MARTEL!" _The narrator shouted. A blonde woman was the standing victor who was walking out of the octagon through a screaming crowd.

_"That makes this Helga Pataki's winning streak to 19 and 0! This 22 year old has come out with a vengeance!" _

Arnold's attention was instantly peaked when he heard that name. "…Helga…?" He slurred in surprise.

_"Can't wait to see what she can bring in the championship in just a few short months!"_

Arnold watched closely now as the camera panned to Helga, who was now sitting in the back wiping her face with a towel, breathing heavily and sweating.

Arnold leaned back, bringing the bottle to his lips again and taking a swig.

"Helga Pataki…" He muttered as memories from their childhood flowed into his mind.

"Great fight Pataki!" Her trainer high fived her after she draped her towel over her shoulders. "Thanks John." She huffed, still tired from the fight.

"Go take a shower, you smell like ass." He laughed, walking away to go speak to one of the workers.

Helga rolled her eyes as she stood up, heading into the locker room area and taking a shower.

She got out of the shower and changed into a pair of her sponsored shorts and a hoodie before walking out to find John again.

"Let's just get you home. You look like hell." John teased, giving her a light punch.

Helga looked at him with a smirk, eyebrow raised. "You sure you wanna throw punches after last time John?"

He held up his hands in defense. "Okay okay, just kidding girl. Don't throw 'Ol Betsy" He gave her a pat on the back. "You kicked ass this fight though."

"Thanks. When's the next one?" She said, a little eager to get it over with.

"Easy now, it's not for a while. So why don't you go visit your old friend? You've been getting a lot of calls from her lately and I know you wanna see her."

Helga thought about it for a moment. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"Alright well let's get you home." He said, the both of them walking to the exit.

Helga got home and tossed her bag next to her bed, plopping down. She was just about to doze off when her phone rang, it was Phoebe.

"Hey Pheebs."

"Helga!" She squeaked. "I saw your fight! Congratulations!"

Helga smirked. "Thanks Pheebs. Oh hey, I'm glad you called, I've actually got some time off and was gonna see if I could come stay with you and visit back in Hillwood for a little bit."

"Of course Helga! I'd love that! I can pick you up from the airport if you'd like, just let me know when!"

Helga smiled. "Okay, I'll try to catch a flight tomorrow evening."

"Sounds great! Keep me updated! Bye!"

"Bye." She hung up the phone and snuggled more into her bed with a sigh.

A thought crossed her mind. Maybe Arnold would be in Hillwood still? Last she heard was his grandmother had passed away.

She got a little sad, remembering the sudden move that Bob pressed about to Jacksonville. But, at the same time, life got a lot better for them.

Miriam had finally quit drinking and Bob stopped calling her Olga and was actually the one who started suggesting that she looked into MMA to get out her aggression, which she had to admit had helped a lot.

They still had their ups and downs though, Helga had decided to move out when she turned 19 to try and keep the peace. Plus with her traveling to fight she was never there, so bob could finally make her old room his "man cave."

She snorted, it was amazing how far they'd come as a family. If you had told Helga when she was younger that all this would've happened, she probably would've decked you. She was still pretty bummed that she had to move as soon as she and Arnold had begun something in sophomore year, but it turned out to be good for her, so she could only be so sad about it.

She looked at the picture of her and Arnold arm in arm in front of the old carnival they went together to with Gerald and Phoebe and she smiled. That was a fun night; it had to have been not even a month before she left.

_Hm…_

She never thought about it much, but she really did miss Arnold. She hadn't even been with anyone since she left Hillwood, mainly because the men she met were scared she'd kill them.

She stretched out, sighing. Who knows? Maybe he was still in Hillwood after all these years. She looked at the clock, one in the morning, man she really needed to sleep.

Helga had managed to book a flight the next night, to which Phoebe eagerly picked her up from the airport, suffocating her with hugs and squeaks of joy. Helga may have been a big MMA fighter now, but even she had to admit it felt like Phoebe could crush someone with her hugs.

They made it to Phoebe's place, to which Helga quickly made herself at home, tossing her back down and pulling out her phone to call John, just to let him know she made it there safe and sound.

He reminded her to keep up with training, but she could ease off a little bit to enjoy time with Phoebe, but under no circumstances could she compromise her diet. Helga just rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Okay Pheebs, so what did you wanna do tonight?"

"Helga…" Phoebe said, exasperated. "It's almost midnight, let's go to bed, we'll do something tomorrow."

Helga yawned. "Yeah, you're right. Okay." She plopped on the couch, stretching out. "Night Pheebs."

"Goodnight Helga." Phoebe scuttled away to her bedroom and shut the door.

Helga woke up around five in the morning and got ready to for a run. She threw on one of her sponsor hoodies with a pair of running shorts and was out the door, headphones in.

She looked around as she ran; noticing that not much had changed in Hillwood since she left. She smirked as she ran by Stoop Kid's place, and Rhonda's old town house.

Her running slowed to a walk, then to a stop when she came along the boarding house. She stared at it, remembering so many things that had taken place on the steps and inside. She took her hood down, slowly marching up the stairs, considering knocking on the door to see if he still lived here.

Just as she was about to knock, she shook her head. What was she doing? He wasn't here anymore, and even if he was, why would he want to see her? She didn't exactly try too hard to stay in touch when she left. She stared at the door as she backed away, her heel skidding down the step. She shot back to catch her balance.

She jumped when from inside the door it sounded like someone was opening it.

Before she could react, a tired, yawning man stepped out. He had a light jacket on and a scarf draped around his neck. He stopped in mid cough when he noticed Helga standing on the steps.

"Um…can I help you?" He asked, with a bit of attitude.

Helga was about to tell him off when she noticed something….she knew that voice.

"…Arnold…?" She said, a little stunned. He looked like…crap.

"That's my name, what?" He said, noticing her shocked expression.

Then he noticed the pink bow tattooed on her hand. Who used to wear a bow like that? His memory wasn't what it used to be…but then he realized it.

"Oh shit."

Helga cringed at Arnold's profanity, he _never_ used to curse.

"Helga?" He asked, surprised. He stepped forward, almost like he was about to touch her to see if she was really there. He pulled back though, then stuffed his hands in his pockets and hustled down the steps, almost like he was embarrassed to see her.

"Hey!" She shouted while he trudged quickly down the street.

That was so weird…

She shook her head before tossing her hood back up and starting her run again, only now she was heading back to Phoebe's, she had quite a few questions for her.

Arnold huffed, a little frustrated that Helga saw him hung over. He looked at his watch, man he was almost an hour late for work too. He sighed, he just could tell today was going to suck.

He started thinking about memories with Helga, but before he knew it he was in front of the gym and walking in.

His boss gave him an earful for being this late, so he was on desk duty for it today, much to his annoyance. Normally he wouldn't really care, but now he was going to think about Helga. He sighed, resting his head against his hand.

"Hey man." Gerald said, driving Arnold's thoughts away as he walked up.

"Hey."

"You look like shit man. You drink again last night?"

Arnold didn't answer, and Gerald just sighed, knowing he had been.

"You've gotta stop Arnold, you're gonna drink yourself to death man." He said, shaking his head.

"Look, when I want sobriety tips from you I'll fucking ask, okay? Now leave me alone." He waved his hand and Gerald just held up his hands.

"Just trying to help you man, that's what friends do ya know." He said, walking away and slinging his bag over his shoulder to change for work.

Arnold just rolled his eyes, but he knew Gerald was right. Since his grandparents died, he'd been angry and took it out by drinking it away, and he hated it, but he was so far gone he just couldn't help it.

He still ran the boarding house, but mainly everyone had left, except Mr. Kakashka, his wife, and Ernie who still stayed in their old places but were older obviously.

They tried to talk to Arnold about getting help too, but he started threatening to evict them if they didn't stop it, so that put an end to their conversations about it.

He sighed, he really wished his grandparents were still alive, everything would've been easier.

And Helga…maybe he wouldn't have become a broken man if she hadn't left. He slammed his fist down on the desk; he didn't want to think about this stuff.

He needed to find some busy work or something to do.

Helga got back to Phoebe's house at around 7:15; luckily Phoebe was an early riser so she was sipping coffee when Helga walked in.

"Good morning Helga, how was your run?" Phoebe smiled sweetly from behind her coffee cup.

"It was good. Hey," She sat down at the table across from her friend. "What's up with Arnold? I saw him this morning and he looked like shit."

Phoebe sighed. "I figured you'd see him eventually. Helga, Arnold is an alcoholic now…" She said, the sentence leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

Helga coughed. "What? Alcoholic? No way." She didn't want to believe it.

"I'm afraid it's true." Phoebe set her coffee cup down. "His grandma died after graduation, and then his grandpa wasn't too far after his 21st birthday…He started drinking after that."

"…Damn…" She put her hand on her cheek, thinking. "That's crazy, he didn't even look the same, the only reason I realized it was him was his voice."

"Yeah, Gerald's been trying to get him to go to AA meetings, but he refuses and gets mad. I've even mentioned it to him."

"But he refuses, and threatens to stop speaking to us, Gerald really only sees him at work now, because he stays cooped up in the boarding house more." Phoebe sighed. "I miss him. He was a good person."

Helga nodded, thinking. "Maybe _I_ can talk to him about it."

Phoebe choked on her coffee. "Helga, don't you go over fists a blazing! It'll just turn into a fight between you two."

"I think I can handle it." Helga scoffed.

"Don't ruin your visit Helga…you can only help people so much that won't even help themselves." She reminded her.

"If the shoe was on the other foot with _any_ of us he'd help. Plus, I've dealt with an alcoholic, remember that. I was the one that pretty much got Miriam sober after all."

Phoebe sighed. "I still don't think it's a good idea, but when has that ever stopped you before." She laughed a little, lightening the mood.

"Oh come on, I'm Helga G. Pataki! I listen to no one!" They both laughed, and changed the subject, talking about things to do in Hillwood now, and who was still around.

Helga decided she'd stop by later tonight to pay Arnold a little visit.

**_*here it is! the new story! Hope you guys enjoy it. I'm excited for it! lots of ideas spinning around in this little noggin of mine! (: leave questions, comments and reviews for me*_**


	2. Chapter 2: This Needs to Stop

Helga changed into a pair of jeans and her favorite sponsor hoodie and headed outside, saying goodbye to Phoebe first and that she'd be back later. She looked at her phone screen, it was 8 at night, and Arnold was probably home by now. She marched towards the boarding house, gathering in her head what she'd say. Man, she hadn't thought this far about this idea. Way to go Pataki, she smacked her forehead.

Ah screw it; she was already almost there anyways so may as well go for it. She reached the boarding house and knocked on the door. Ernie answered the door after a moment. "Yeah, yeah, who-" He stopped, clearly recognizing Helga. "No way! Helga Pataki!" He stepped back a second, his hands on his hips as he admired her. "I watch all of your fights! You're really showing them who's boss in MMA!"

Helga smirked, surprised that anyone had even really heard of her from around here except her old friends. "Thanks Mr. Potts, but I'm actually here to see Arnold. Is he home yet?"

Ernie just shrugged, a little disappointed. "I don't keep tabs on that boy no more. I haven't heard the front door open though, so I doubt it."

Helga sighed. "Okay well, thanks. Do you mind if I wait 'til he gets here?" She looked at her phone time; it shouldn't be too long now.

Ernie gave her a thumbs up. "Fine by me! I wanna be able to brag about this to the boys at the site anyways!" He laughed, and Helga laughed politely. Man, she forgotten how far she'd come from her annoyance to everything.

At around 10, Arnold still wasn't home, so Helga decided she should probably head back to Phoebe's now. Ernie insisted that he get a picture with her and her autograph in one of her fighting pictures he had, after that she went out the front door.

She turned, saying goodbye to Ernie and turned to run smack into Arnold as he was walking up the steps

"Helga?" He pulled out one of his ear buds. "Why are you in my house?" He asked, clearly annoyed as to why she was snooping around.

She crossed her arms. "I was coming by to talk to _you_, but you weren't here, so I spoke to Ernie. That alright with you, bucko?" Her fiery attitude wasn't _completely_ gone after all.

He rolled his eyes, sighing. "Well I'm not interested in a talk, now if you'll excuse me." He went to walk into the house before Helga's arm connected with his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oh no," She said sternly. "We're talking."

Arnold took her arm and roughly shoved it away from him. "I told you I don't want to fucking talk; now leave me the hell alone." He stormed into the house, slamming the door in Helga's face.

Helga seethed, about ready to rip the door of its hinges and pummel him. She took a deep breath, calming herself before marching off the stoop, screw it, he could drink himself to death for all she cared.

Arnold tossed his jacket on one of the hangers. "Who the hell does she think she is barging in my house?" He mumbled, setting his keys down.

"Ya know Arnold…" Ernie was in the hallway, leaning against the wall outside his room. "Maybe you should take a second and hear what she has to say."

Arnold shot him a nasty look, and Ernie shut up instantly. "Fine, don't listen, whatever." And he opened his door, heading into his room without another word.

Arnold rolled his eyes. He didn't want to talk to anybody, especially not Helga. She may have forgotten about what happened between them, but he sure hadn't.

He headed to the kitchen, grabbing his familiar bottle of whiskey and trudging up to his room, going back to memories as he went.

He remembered the day Helga left after sophomore year, and her promising to stay in touch. When not once did he get even a text from her after she moved. And after all that he had to deal with when she left…it would've been nice.

Sure, he had Gerald to help soften the blow, but Helga had a different place in his life than Gerald. He and Helga had just started to date before she up and left. He really needed her when he lost his grandparents.

He took a drink and sighed. He hated where his life was going, he was losing his ambition and it was driving him nuts. What happened to the kid that wanted to be a doctor? His grandparents left him a ton of money that was just sitting in a college fund, waiting for him to take advantage of it.

He plopped down on his bed, his mind going back to Helga. Maybe he should've listened to what she had to say…

Helga was mumbling angry, frustrated as she stomped back to Phoebe's.

She reached her apartment and threw open the front door, shutting it with a huff. Phoebe was sitting on the couch with a cup and set it down, ready for her friend's rant. "What happened?" She asked expectantly, waiting for her friend's obvious rant about to start.

"He shut the door in my face!" She seethed. "I can't believe it!"

Phoebe shook her head. "He doesn't want to talk to anybody about his problem Helga, I tried telling you that." She explained. "It probably doesn't help that he never got over you up and leaving without trying to stay touch with him."

Helga looked almost surprised. "Seriously? I called him all the time Pheebs…"

Phoebe set down her drink. "You did?"

"Yes!" Helga's arms hit her sides in exasperation. "We talked for a little while up until his grandma died, then when I called to see how he was coping he yelled at me on the phone and hung up. I didn't try to call him after that…" She plopped down on the recliner.

Phoebe leaned back. "Wow, I didn't know all that…I'm sorry Helga."

"I mean really Pheebs, I _loved_ Arnold, do you honestly think I'd move and never try to stay in touch?"

Phoebe sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. You never told me you stayed in touch with him, and he told me you didn't so I just figured you hadn't."

"Yeah well, apology accepted." Helga said, still annoyed.

They sat in silence for a while, and the more Helga thought Arnold slamming the door in her face and telling people she never spoke to him again it made her even madder. "You know what," she stood up quickly, startling Phoebe. "Screw this, I'm going back over there and give him a piece if my mind." She walked out the front door before Phoebe could protest.

Helga marched towards the boarding house for the second time tonight, slowing down the closer she got. She sighed. Dangit, she really needed to start thinking before acting, at least when it came to Arnold. Even when they were younger her mind clouded up when it came to him.

She stared at the front door, gathering her thoughts before knocking on the door.

Arnold was lying in his bed, staring at the sky through the roof's window before hearing a knock on the front door. He looked at the clock, who the hell was here at 11:30 at night? He sighed, sitting up in bed after the next set of knocks.

He stormed down the stairs, opening the door. "Listen man-" He was nudged aside by none other than Helga. "What the hell are you doing Helga?!" He asked, clearly aggravated.

"Alright look here Football Head." She turned around to face him, crossing her arms. "You and I are gonna talk, whether you like it or not."

Arnold sighed. "For the last time Helga I don't want to talk!"

Helga walked right past him and into the kitchen. He heard a bunch of rustling noises and some clanging around. "Hey!" He chased in after her. "What the hell are you doing?"

Helga was holding four bottles of alcohol in her arms and was dumping them down the sink.

Arnold went to go snatch the alcohol from Helga but she stretched out of his reach and was practically on top of the counter so it would stay out of his reach.

"Give me back my damn bottles Helga!"

"No!" She continued to wave them around out of his reach.

"Helga quit playing around!"

"I won't see you end up like Miriam!" She yelled, and Arnold stopped grabbing and looked down at her.

"What?" He asked, almost stunned.

"I'm not going to see you end up like Miriam Arnold!" She backed away, still holding the bottle in her hands tightly.

Arnold was surprised to say the least. "I…" he didn't know what to say to that. "I wouldn't end up like that Helga…"

"Oh really? And how do you know that unless you quit drinking?" She asked, and Arnold twitched.

"Honestly Arnold…" She set the bottle down in the sink, letting it drain, and he didn't stop her. "After everything you saw me go through with Miriam I can't believe you'd turn to this when you've got people that love you."

Arnold sighed. "I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair. "I just don't know."

"And why did you tell people I didn't try to stay in touch with you after I left? You know that's not true."

"Yes you did, you never called once after you moved to Jacksonville." He said, the hurt in his voice showed that he truly believed it.

"Arnold…" She stepped closer to him. "I _tried_ to talk to you, all the time. And then when Cookie died…you told me to stop calling after yelling at me on the phone."

"I don't remember that." Arnold said, trying to recollect it.

"Gee, I wonder why." She said sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Arnold sighed. "Okay…maybe you're right." And he knew it wasn't 'maybe,' she was right.

"No more drinking Arnold, I mean it." She said, pointing a finger at him.

He held up his hands. "Okay, I'll try. I promise."

"I mean really Arnold, not a drop. And I've dealt with an alcoholic my whole life, so I'll know if you start up."

Arnold waved her off. "I heard you, okay? I promise."

"Okay…and don't think that because I'm not staying in town for long that means you can start up again, I'll be checking on you."

"Alright alright…'ma'am.'" He said, chuckling and trying to lighten the mood.

"One last thing," Helga said, stepping closer to Arnold to where they were almost touching. She stared up at him, making his heart race a little. She reached behind him, turning the last bottle over in the sink.

Arnold watched her as she stared at him, backing away again. They watched each other, not saying anything.

They could both feel tension in the room, and Helga scratched the back of her head before turning to leave. "I've gotta get back to Phoebe's…" She said, taking the door handle in her hand.

Arnold followed her into the hall, watching her.

She turned to look at him again. "I'll be calling you to make sure you're keeping your promise Football Head." She went to shut the door, but stared at him a moment longer and shut the door, leaving Arnold staring at a shut frame and Helga leaned against it on the outside. She had a weird feeling in her chest, like the feeling she used to get with him before she moved away.

She couldn't help but wonder if it was because she still had feelings for him.

She shook it from her mind, walking back to Phoebe's house. She should probably get packed up since her flight was tomorrow night.

She walked in and shut the door.

"How'd it go?" Phoebe asked.

"He promised he'd quit drinking." She said with a smug smile.

Phoebe was clearly shocked. "Really? That easy?"

"Mhm. We'll see how it goes; I told him I'd stay in touch to make sure he kept up with it."

"Well good, maybe we'll get back the old Arnold." Phoebe said with a soft smile, remembering the fun times the four of them had.

"Yeah, I hope so." She said, starting to think about how they used to be. "I'm gonna head to bed. Night Pheebs." She said, walking into the guest bedroom.  
"Goodnight Helga." She said, deciding to head to bed herself.

Helga plopped onto the bed, not bothering to change. She was pretty surprised how well their talk went once he came to his senses, but she knew it wasn't as easy to quit as it sounded.

She sighed, she wished she could stay longer to keep an eye on him, but her big fight was in two and a half weeks, and John insisted she get started back into her training as soon as possible.

Her mind went back to Arnold. Oh Arnold.

She couldn't help but wonder what would've been if she had stayed in Hillwood. She reached for her phone and looked at the lock screen that showed a picture of her and Arnold in high school. She stared at it for a moment before setting it back down.

Maybe, just maybe, Arnold and Helga's story wasn't over between them.

**_*here it is! Chapter 2! forgive the delay, I've been fighting off a sickness and night time Tylenol really knocks you out. So if this isnt' the greatest chapter, forgive me! I read it over, and it seemed fine to me, but obviously if I made a mistake or need to improve let me know. thanks again guys! (: enjoy!*_**


	3. Chapter 3: Stolen Affection

Helga woke up and stretched, noticing a missed call from John. Ah, crap.

She checked the voicemail he left.

_"Hey there Pataki, just wanted to let you know I got the dates mixed up, you don't have to come back for a few more days. So enjoy your vacation cuz you're getting your ass handed to you when you get back with training! Hope you're still jogging, ya lazy ass! Talk to you soon! Oh and by the way, went ahead and rescheduled your flight. Don't have too much fun!"_

Helga shook her head, laughing before tossing her phone on the bed as she stood up. She looked in the mirror, noticing how tired she looked. She didn't really sleep well last night. She looked at the clock on her phone, 7:30.

Oh screw that, she could jog later tonight. She fell back on the bed, sighing tiredly. Her dreams were filled with stupid mushy dreams of her and Arnold once more, much to her annoyance.

She snorted, remembering a dream she had when she was a kid about her being the president and having to save Arnold from Lila. Oh Lord, she really needed to go back to bed.

Phoebe noticed it was almost noon and Helga hadn't come out of the guest room. She quietly knocked on the door before opening it slightly. "Helga?" she squeaked.

Helga just grunted, a clear indignation that she was not ready to get up.

"Come on lazy bones." Phoebe giggled. "It's almost noon."

"Man…" Helga groaned before pushing herself off of the bed. "I slept like crap." She touched her forehead.

"Well, I have to head to work soon, so help yourself to anything while I'm gone. I've got to go change." She said, shutting the door.

Helga looked around, thinking of something she could do today. Maybe she could just stroll around the park or something. Yeah, that wasn't a bad idea.

She threw on a t-shirt and a jacket along with some jeans and her boots and headed out the door.

She stuck her headphones in as she strolled around, her hands stuffed in her pockets while she looked around.

A few people seemed to recognize her, but chose not to say anything much to Helga's relief. She really didn't want to deal with fans and questions today. Plus she didn't bring her trusty hot pink pen for autographs.

She turned the corner by a coffee shop, rather close to the boarding house. Oh, a coffee sounds good right about now. She stepped inside the coffee shop, catching a few side glances of recognition to which she ignored. She ordered her coffee and rushed out before people bugged her.

She blew in the cup to cool it down before taking a sip and continuing on her walk.

Arnold stared at his phone, debating on if he should call or not. He wanted to talk to Helga. He had even called Phoebe to get her number. He sighed, screw it, he'll call.

Helga noticed she was coming up on the boarding house. Her mind traveled to thoughts of Arnold. She missed the little group she, Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold had in high school.

She sighed, she missed it. She missed what they had.

Her thoughts were cut short by her phone ringing. She pulled it out, not recognizing the number.

She reluctantly answered it. "Hello?"

"Helga?" The voice on the line said.

"…Yeah? Who is this?" She asked, cutting to the chase.

"It's Arnold." Well speak of the devil.

Helga stopped walking, a little surprised. How did he get her number?

"Oh, what's up?" She asked awkwardly, not really knowing what to say after the other night.

"I was going to see if you wanted to meet up and catch up seeing as our last conversation wasn't the most pleasant." He said, rubbing the back of his head. Why was it so weird talking to her like this?

"Oh uh…sure. Where did you want to meet?" This was awfully random.

"How about Hillwood Park?" He asked, seeing as that was the main place that hadn't changed much since she left.

"Sure. I'll see you in a bit then." She said, hanging up the phone. She took a deep breath, why was she suddenly nervous about meeting up with Arnold? Oh well, she agreed, so now it was time to suck it up.

Arnold got ready rather quickly and hustled out the front door, he was anxious. He wasn't quite sure why. He couldn't help but wonder that it was because of the feeling he was having that maybe his and Helga's story wasn't quite finished yet.

Helga sat on a park bench, watching for Arnold to show up. After a few minutes, she saw the familiar blonde mess of hair come around the corner. He saw her and she stood up, heading towards him.

"Hey." He said, feeling a little shy now.

"…Hey." Helga said, rubbing her arm.

They walked around in silence for a little bit, before Arnold coughed and broke the silence. "So…MMA, huh?" He said, looking at her with a smirk.

Helga smiled. "Heh, yeah, crazy I know."

"No, not crazy." He said, and she looked at him. "Impressive."

"Helga smiled again. "Thanks. Not what I was expecting to do with my life, but hey, it pays the bills." She laughed.

"I saw your fight with Martel." He said. "You won after the second round. You're good Helga. Really good."

Helga looked down, almost embarrassed. "Thanks."

"How have you been?" She looked back at him. "Other than…you know."

Arnold sighed, he didn't really want to talk about him, but he knew it'd be brought up eventually. "Well, I'm alive, I guess." He scratched his head, trying to find words. "You pretty much know everything already."

Helga nodded quietly. That was true, she had heard stories, and Phoebe had kept her a little updated when she moved.

"But," He said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm thinking about going back to school."

That caught Helga's attention. "That's great Football Head!"

Arnold chuckled at the familiar nickname. "Yeah, grandma and grandpa had left me money for it, so I figured I should use it."

"What would you go to school for?"

"Psychology probably, I'm thinking about being a school psychiatrist maybe."

"You'd be good at that." She smiled, looking up at him.

Arnold couldn't help but smile too. It was amazing how almost nothing had changed between them once they calmly talked.

They walked in more silence, glancing at each other every now and again.

Arnold was about to say something before the ring of Helga's phone cut him off. She noticed it was Phoebe. "Hello?"

"Hello Helga! I was just calling to let you know I'll be getting home in about an hour."

"Oh okay, I'll see you then. Bye Pheebs."

"Bye!" Phoebe hung up and Helga stuck her phone back in her pocket.

She stopped, sighing. Arnold stopped too and looked at her.

"Phoebe's going to be home soon, so I should probably get going." She said, almost sad.

"Oh...okay." Arnold almost seemed sad as well. "I'll walk you back if that's alright." He said, a bit hopeful she'd say yes.

Helga smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."

Arnold smiled and they both left the park, talking and laughing about various things.

It seemed that almost too quickly they reached the front of Phoebe's apartment building.

"Well…" Helga said, shuffling her feet. "I'll see you later I guess?" She looked up at him.

"Can I see you before you leave?" He asked.

Helga smiled, nodding. "Sure."

Arnold felt his heart jump almost out of his chest with her answer. Why was he acting so giddy?

"Well," Helga broke the silence. "I'd better head inside." She opened the door, but before she could step inside, she felt a hand around her wrist and before she knew it she was turned around to face Arnold.

"Arnold, what-" She was cut off by a sudden kiss by him.

He backed her up against the wall without breaking the kiss.

A muffled grunt came from Helga before she gave up and returned the affection. She couldn't deny she was loving this feeling.

He took her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. He broke the kiss to hug her tightly, burying his face in her neck and taking a deep, steadying breath.

Helga's head was reeling from the sudden kiss.

He hugged her for a moment before she heard a sniffle. "Arnold?" She asked, still tightly gripped in his hug.

"…I missed you Helga…so much…" He said, a clear sound of pain in his voice.

Helga shut her eyes. "…Arnold…" Her arms snaked around his shoulders. "I was always a phone call away you dumby." She said, her lip quivering from holding back her tears that she felt forming. It killed her to see Arnold cry, this was the first time she'd ever seen it too, so it made it even harder to bare.

Arnold's arms tightened even more around her. "…I know, and I'm sorry…" He said, sniffling again.

"Hey…stop." She finally broke the hug with a little effort. "It happened, in the past." She tried to reassure him.

"Please let me see you before you leave." He almost pleaded. "Please Helga…"

"Arnold…I said I would, so I will. I promise." She took his face in her hands, kissing him swiftly. "I've got to go inside though Arnold."

Arnold reluctantly gave her one last hug before she headed inside and shut the door. Helga hadn't even noticed her ragged breathing until now. What was that just now? She wasn't sure, but she loved it. And she knew that even after all this time that she still had feelings for him. She leaned against the shut door, slowly easing herself down as she smiled and shut her eyes.

Arnold stared at the door for a moment before walking down the stairs. Why did he do that? He was surprised by his actions himself, but he knew it was what he truly felt. He really did miss her. Maybe that was why he was so snippy when she first came back. He wasn't sure, but deep down he felt a twinge of hope that maybe, just maybe…

Something more was happening between them again.

And this time, maybe it would work out.

_***here it is, chapter 3! I know, I know, it's a little on the short side and I'm sorry. BUT, there's a good reason, because I was juggling between typing this and...the epilogue for Find the Light! Thaaat's right it is officially in the works! I'm pretty excited about it too. And of course I'm still very excited about where I'm taking this fanfic as well. SO, Arnold stole a kiss from tough little miss Helga G. Pataki, so now what's going to happen between these two love birds? Will they rekindle something? Or will the stress of Helga's MMA career and Arnold's struggle with sobriety get in the way of these young lovers being together? As always, please leave questions, comments, and reviews because I read them ALL. and thank you all for not only taking time to read this story and Find the Light, but also taking time to let me know what you think and any ideas that you may have, because I really do take them into consideration. Love you guys! 'Til next time! (:***_


	4. Chapter 4: You Liar

Helga jumped up from the door as soon as she heard Phoebe opening it.

"Hello Helga!" She said smiling, but then raising an eyebrow when she noticed Helga was up against the wall next to the door. "…what were you doing?"

"Nothing! I just got home a few minutes ago is all." Helga said, trying to cover up her flushed face.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "…riiiight, anyways, did you want to just go and grab dinner tonight? I figured a nice night out just the two of us would be great!"

Helga smiled. "That sounds awesome Pheebs. Are you hungry now?"

"I could eat. Why don't we go get ready now and we'll figure out where after?"

"Sounds good, I'll go throw on some makeup." Helga said, heading into the guest bedroom while Phoebe jumped in the shower.

Helga thought about Arnold while she was getting ready. That move he made was so sudden, but it was a nice surprise she had to admit.

She sighed, she hated how much of a jumbled mess Arnold made her, even after all the time apart.

She shook her head, shaking the thoughts from her mind as she finished getting ready. She threw on a nice little black dress (she worked hard for the body so why not show it off?) with some silver heels, her hair curled in nice waves.

"Well don't you look nice?" Phoebe giggled when her friend strolled out of the bathroom.

Helga smirked, putting her hands on her hips. "I should say the same to you!" She winked, the both of them laughing.

They headed out to Fazoli's, and Helga was surprised that it was still there after all these years. She smiled, thinking about when she dressed up to fool Arnold as Cecile. Some of the extents she went to were so goofy looking back on it now.

Phoebe and Helga sat down at their table, laughing and chatting about various things.

"Oh," Phoebe said, setting her wine glass back down. "I meant to ask you, why did you switch trainers? Because you had somebody before John didn't you?"

Helga sighed; she knew Phoebe would ask eventually. "You're talking about Eric, right?"

"Yeah him," Phoebe said. "You used to rave about how terrific he was, I was really surprised when you said you had a new one."

Helga twirled her finger around her glass, thinking of how to tell her friend about what happened. "Well, Eric was training me, rather well, and after almost three years, apparently he thought I owed him something."

Phoebe didn't seem to quite understand where she was going with this.

"He showed up to my apartment, saying it was urgent." Helga continued, still searching for the words. "When he got there, he tried forcing himself on me."

Phoebe gasped in surprise. "What did you do?"

Helga shrugged. "I beat the shit out of him and threw him out of the apartment, after firing him of course." She sipped her wine.

Phoebe remained silent. "Wow…"

Helga sighed again. "Yeah. Can we talk about something else though please?" Helga asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

Phoebe nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry Helga. I didn't mean to bring up old wounds."

"It's all good Pheebs no worries." She said, quickly bringing up Phoebe's school, which they talked about for pretty much the rest of dinner.

Phoebe and Helga left dinner, both full and satisfied with their nice dinner between friends. They headed back to the apartment, chatting as they strolled.

Phoebe had the next two days off so they spent a lot of much needed time together, Helga loved it. She had missed her friend a lot.

She knew she had to leave in the morning, so she needed to stop by Arnold's tonight and see him, just like she promised. She smiled, feeling almost jittery at the thought. Helga didn't even think to bother calling or texting Arnold, he knew that she'd be stopping by sometime anyway so what was the point?

Arnold watched the clock at work; he was so ready to be off. It was a pretty rough day between stupid customers and his boss. He checked his phone, seeing if there was a missed call or text from Helga, but there was nothing. He sighed; she was leaving soon wasn't she?

He finally got off and headed home, but stopped when he came up on a small liquor store. He stared at the illuminated store name, feeling extremely tempted to grab a bottle of something.

He sighed, screw it, he'd just grab a small bottle of gin and be on his way. Helga didn't need to know about his one cheat night. He picked up the bottle and headed home.

He set all of his things down and grabbed a cup, pouring a little bit of his mixer in it with the gin, plopping down on the couch with a satisfied sigh. He left the bottle sitting on the kitchen counter in case he wanted another drink and turned on the TV. He flipped through a few channels before leaving it on a talk show host. Man, of course as soon as he got comfy he had to go to the bathroom. He sighed, standing up and setting his drink down, heading to the bathroom.

Helga looked at her phone to see what time it was while she walked. It was 8:30, so Arnold was definitely home by now. She felt butterflies in her stomach and she wasn't sure if it was nervousness or excitement. Either way, she was just ready to get to the boarding house.

She finally made it to the front steps and knocked on the front door, waiting a moment. Nobody answered, so she impatiently pushed the door open, just letting herself in.

"Arnold?" She called down the hall. She didn't hear a reply.

_Hm…I wonder where he is._

She peaked in the living room after noticing the TV was on. She saw a glass sitting on the table, feeling a little bit of suspicion. She shook it from her mind. No, it was just a regular drink. Arnold wouldn't betray her like that.

She decided to look in the kitchen. Maybe he was in there and couldn't hear her. "Arnold? Where are you Football Head-" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the gin bottle sitting on the counter. Her heart fell to the floor.

Arnold flushed the toilet and washed his hands before heading back down the hall, passing the kitchen. He noticed a figure as he walked by and he slowed, backing up to see if he really saw someone. He came back to find Helga holding the bottle and staring at it, facing away from Arnold.

_Oh shit._ "…Helga?"

"…you're unbelievable." Helga mumbled, her hand beginning to shake.

Arnold felt his heart racing. He knew he shouldn't have gotten it. "Helga, I can explain-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT." Helga shouted, whipping around to face Arnold. He had never seen this look in her eyes before, even when she fought.

"You're a _liar. _You _lied_ to me!" She almost whispered, disgusted.

Arnold watched her frantically, trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation.

"What can you possibly say to justify this Arnold?!" She charged towards him, stopping in his face and shaking the bottle in front of him. "HUH?!"

Arnold stared at her, he had no explanation.

Helga searched his eyes, hers burning into his. She shoved the gin bottle into his chest, sending him back a bit. "I'm done with you Arnold." She said, walking around him and slamming into his shoulder.

"Helga, please." Arnold followed her slowly as she charged towards the front door; he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He really screwed up.

Helga ignored his almost plea as she opened the door, slamming it with a force that shook the frame and knocked down a hanging picture frame, leaving Arnold now crying as he stared at the shut door, knowing nothing he could do would fix this.

Helga stormed down the street, absolutely disgusted. Unbelievable! How dare he!

He lied to her. _Not another drop my ass!_

She cursed herself silently as she plowed the sidewalk towards Phoebe's apartment.

She felt a chill on her face and she wiped her cheeks, realizing she was crying, which made her even madder. She didn't want to cry.

She cursed herself even more.

She was so glad now that she was leaving in the morning, she could get away from Arnold, and as much as she didn't want to leave Phoebe, she was just so disgusted with the stunt he pulled that she was just ready to go.

She wiped her face a few more times before she reached Phoebe's apartment and opened it. Phoebe was already asleep thank goodness; she really didn't want to explain why she was crying.

She went in the guest bedroom and fell onto the bed, not even bothering to change.

She felt her lip starting to quiver before she began to straight sob, just giving up on trying to be strong. She felt betrayed by Arnold, and it broke her heart that even for her he couldn't stop drinking. Miriam was even able to stop, and she was much more gone than Arnold. She tugged the covers up to her face while she cried, curling up as much as she could, as if she'd disappear. Her heart felt broken.

Arnold punched his wall in his room, tears running down his face.

He screwed up, royally, and he really felt deep down in his heart that there was no turning back from this. He knew how unforgiving Helga could be, and in this case he didn't blame her. And that's what made him the most mad, was the fact that he knew he could've prevented it.

His heart was throbbing as he paced his room, Helga never leaving his mind. Maybe he could call her in the morning, to try and talk.

No, that wouldn't be a good idea, she needed time and he knew that. Maybe he should call in a few days, because then he could say he was making sure she got back safe.

He stopped, raking a hand through his hair. Who was he kidding? He screwed up, royally. Helga would never forgive him, let alone speak to him.

He shook his fist, finally feeling the sting from the punch he delivered to the wall. He fell onto the bed, stuffing his face into his pillow as he continued to cry, wanting to just get sucked into the bed and turn back time to before he bought that damned bottle.

**_*I know I know _ this one is short too. I'm sorry! I've been really busy with school so I wanted to get this up. I pinky promise that this next chapter will be nice and long. Wow, so Arnold fell back, Helga's pissed which of course is expected. Is Arnold going to be able to talk his way out of this one? Or is this possible love damaged beyond repair? Can Helga's hard heart forgive the man she knows deep down she still is crazy about? Leave feedback! Thank you guys as always for reading! lotsa love guys! (:*_**


	5. Chapter 5: The Shot Heard Round the Worl

Helga woke up the next morning with puffy eyes. She sat up, rubbing her them. Why had she been crying?

An image of the bottle of gin she found in Arnold's kitchen flashed across her mind.

_Oh…that's right._

She felt her lip quiver; she shut her eyes again, steadying her breath.

Phoebe knocked and opened the door. "Good morning Helga, are you almost ready for me to take you to the airport?" She asked, noticing the glazed look in Helga's eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

Helga sniffed and wiped her nose. "I'm fine Pheebs. Let me just finish packing back up." She said standing up and picking up her things that were scattered around the room. Phoebe could tell something was wrong, but she held her tongue and went back into the living room to wait for her.

Helga finished packing and called John as she and Phoebe walked to the car. John quickly answered the phone.

"Hey there Pataki! You getting to the airport now?"

"Hey John, yeah I'm on my way." She got into Phoebe's car.

"Okay, I'll see you when you land then. I'll be the one picking you up. Figured I should do it myself!" John said, satisfied with himself. Helga just chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Okay John, see you soon. Bye." Helga hung up the phone and sighed, setting it down on her lap.

Phoebe watched her from the corner of her eye, wanting to ask what had happened last night because she could hear Helga's crying from her room. She decided against it though, she figured it was a sore subject, and it definitely had to do with Arnold seeing as she had been there last night. Phoebe sighed; she wished her friend wasn't so closed off when it came to Arnold.

"I find a bottle in his house." Helga said, breaking the silence. Phoebe turned and looked at her in a bit of surprise.

"A bottle?" She asked, not quite understanding.

"Of gin," Helga said with a sigh. "I found it in the kitchen and I flipped." She said, feeling a bit of regret for reacting the way she did. "I didn't know how else to react, I just saw it and…" She shut her eyes.

"Hey…" Phoebe said, laying a hand on her friend's knee. "You had a right to be mad, but at the same you asked a lot from a man with an addiction Helga. Maybe he needs professional help. You have to be patient. Just because Miriam didn't need AA doesn't mean Arnold doesn't."

Helga sighed, leaning against the side of the door. "I guess you're right…" And with that, the conversation ended.

They seemed to reach the airport too soon. Phoebe got out of the car and walked Helga to her terminal, the two exchanging hugs and last minute jokes before Helga took the bittersweet, lonely trip into the plane. She sat down in her seat after placing her luggage above her. She felt really alone suddenly. She wished she could just have Phoebe come with her. Or even Arnold…

_No._ She shook that from her mind. She was mad, and hurt. She leaned back in her seat. Maybe she shouldn't have freaked so much about it. After all, Arnold had a problem, and she knew that Miriam had a lot of issues quitting at first. And she knew her friend had a point with what she said in the car. She sighed; she hated being like that sometimes. She was still mad at him obviously, but she couldn't help but regret how she reacted.

She felt the jerk of the plane as it began moving and she shut her eyes, damn did she hate planes. She decided to sleep, it surprisingly coming to her easily.

"Miss…miss?" She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Helga's eyes fluttered open to see a stewardess standing over her. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we've landed." She said rather quietly.

Helga saw everyone gathering their things and she sat up, yawning. "Thank you." She said, the stewardess nodding and heading on her way. Helga grabbed her suitcase from above and pulled out her cell phone to call John.

"I've landed John, are you close?"

"Yeah Pataki, I'm about five minutes away, just wait out front for me. See you soon."

"Bye." Helga stuck her phone in her pocket and walked off the plane. She felt groggy from just waking up as she slowly made her way through the airport, noticing a few side glances from people. Yepp, she was definitely home.

Unlike Hillwood, just about everybody watched UFC in Florida. She sighed, she didn't normally mind it, but today it was bugging her. Not that she'd snap on anybody, she was used to it.

She reached the front and John greeted her by snatching up her suitcase before she could argue. "Hey there Pataki! How was your mini vacation?" He asked, setting her suitcase in the trunk of the car.

"It was alright." She said curtly, and John knew not to push further.

"Well," He said, changing the subject. "I hope you're ready to get back to getting your ass kicked in training!" He elbowed her with a chuckle. Helga smirked.

"Yeah yeah." She said, punching him in the arm. He flinched, rubbing his arm.

"Well, you're definitely back that's for sure." He said sarcastically.

They got in the car and headed to Helga's apartment, which from the airport was almost an hour drive.

Helga was staring out the window when John coughed, catching her attention. "So…" He said, seeming to be trying to figure out something he needed to tell her.

"…So…?" She turned, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I got a phone call about two days ago…" He said, not looking at her.

"And? Get to the point John." She was getting aggravated.

"It was Eric."

Helga's eyes widened. _What?_ "Why didn't you call and tell me?!" She said, almost outraged.

"Calm down!" He said defensively. "He doesn't know where your apartment is. I told him you live in Reno now, and he bought it."

Helga relaxed, only a little bit though. "I haven't heard from him in almost four months…" She rubbed her forehead.

"I know, we changed your numbers and everything because of it." He said, sighing.

"I know. He pretty much lost his mind after I threw him out and fired him."

"Well it served him right. You don't try to take advantage of an MMA fighter, that's just stupid." He snorted.

"Anyways, the championship is in only three weeks, and since you've had a week off, we need to work you to death the next week for catch up." He looked at her, smirking. "You ready?"

"Hell yeah, that title is mine." They high fived each other and laughed, Helga forgetting her sadness for a while.

Arnold tapped his pencil on the desk, desk duty again. Man he really was starting to hate this. Especially after the whole fiasco with Helga, desk duty gave him time to think. He sighed, thinking about it for the umpteenth time today. He really messed up. Maybe he should look into getting professional help for it. Yeah, he'll call tomorrow before work.

"Hey man," Gerald came up to the desk.

"Hey." Arnold said, distracted.

"You alright?"

Arnold sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just screwed up with Helga."

Gerald leaned against the desk. "Damn, I'm sorry man. What happened?"

"I decided to have one last night with a drink and it of course was the day she decided to show up unannounced. Needless to say she flipped her lid. But, I deserve it, I promised her I wouldn't, and I did it anyways." He leaned onto his hand, rubbing his head.

"Well, Helga still cares for you obviously, I'm sure she'll come around. Just give her time." He said, pushing himself off the desk. "But I gotta get to work, I'll see you later." Gerald said, walking away from the desk.

Arnold hoped that Gerald was right.

When John and Helga pulled up to her apartment, John shooed her to go upstairs while he grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. She managed to steal her purse from him so she could at least carry that.

She fumbled with her keys, cursing under her breath before finally getting it open. She finally got it open and as soon as she stepped in the door, she dropped her purse and keys in shock. Shit.

_Eric was standing in her apartment._

"Hello Helga." He said, gun pointed at her. "Long way from Reno, don't you think?"

"What the fuck are you doing here Eric? How did you find my apartment?" She asked, horrified.

"Well, you see, there's this new technology called…a tracer. I figured, why would your new manager be in Florida if you're in Reno…so I did a few searches and low and behold…found your place." He chuckled, waving his gun. "You seem to forget how resourceful I can be."

Helga narrowed her eyes at him. Great, how was she going to get out of this? Sure, she was strong, but against a gun there wouldn't be much of a fight. Not to mention Eric had trained her for three years, and pretty much knew her fighting habits like the back of his hands.

"What do you want from me Eric?" She asked, disturbed.

Eric shrugged, smirking. "Just payback. Because of you, I lost the respect I earned in this business."

"You did that to yourself Eric and you know it." She hissed.

"Hey Helga, you only had one bag, right? Because I-" John came into the doorway, surprising the both of them. Eric pointed the gun at John now, and Helga realized this was her chance. She charged forward while his eyes were on John, time seeming to slow as she elbowed Eric in the face before cracking him in the temple with her fist, forcing him to drop the gun and fall to the floor.

The gun landed with a small bounce, releasing a bullet as it hit the floor. The gunshot rang out and she immediately looked to John to see if it had hit him. All the color had drained from his face and he seemed to be frozen.

"John did it hit you?!" She asked, it almost a yell.

John slowly shook his head, staring at her torso. And that was when she felt it.

Her shirt was starting to soak with blood on her stomach.

"…ah…" She let out an agonized scream, holding onto her side as she backed up in horror, bringing a bloodied hand up to her face. John ran to her side, picking up the gun in case Eric came to.

"Helga, don't panic, okay? Don't panic!" John yelled, pressing his hands against Helga's wound, blood instantly covering his hands. "Shit!"

He whipped his phone out, not caring about the blood smearing across the screen as he called 911. He finished up the phone call, still holding Helga's side, applying pressure and attempting to ignore her pained screams with every bit of weight that came into contact with her stomach.

John noticed Helga's skin was starting to feel clammy and her skin was starting to pale. He was getting nervous that she was going into shock. Where the hell was the damn ambulance?

"Helga, stay with me, I need you to stay with me." He urged, brushing her hair out of her sweat covered face. Her eyes were rolling around, almost searching for him.

Helga could feel almost what was like a heartbeat in her wound, the blood still oozing from it as John kept his hands against it. With every breath, her skin felt like it was being torn from her.

The ambulance finally got to the apartment and the police not too far after to follow them to the hospital for Eric. Helga hit him so hard they were concerned he had a concussion, so he needed to be checked out.

John rode in the ambulance, trying to talk to Helga, to keep her conscious, but it was failing miserably. Helga finally just gave up and passed out from the pain, the noise of the ambulance and a panicked John fading from her mind.

Arnold got home, tired. He shut the front door and trudged into the kitchen to get something to eat. He grabbed his food and plopped down in the living room. He grabbed the remote from the arm of the couch and began flipping through the channels, a breaking news flashing across the screen catching his eye.

The remote fell as the woman on the screen spoke.

Arnold's heart dropped. "_Helga Pataki, MMA fighter shot in apartment_" The headline repeatedly scrolled across the bottom of the screen as the news reporter gave vague details about what had happened, seeing as they didn't know much except that Helga had been shot and was being taken to the hospital.

He shot up from the couch, staring at the screen that had a picture of Helga in the corner and an aerial view of her complex with a confused crowd out front.

Arnold's phone shook him from his shock. It was Phoebe. "I just saw it." He said, knowing what she was calling about.

"I'm on the next flight out of here, are you going or staying Arnold?" Phoebe asked, and it seemed to be the hardest question he'd ever been asked. Should he go after what happened?

He took a deep, steadying breath. "I'll meet you at the airport."

Phoebe felt relief. "No need, I'm outside. Hurry up."

And with that, Arnold was grabbing minor things he knew he'd need for security. He made sure he had his wallet, ID and his cards. Arnold asked Ernie to just keep an eye around the boarding house while he was gone, which Ernie agreed with no problems.

Arnold was out the door, and practically dove into Phoebe's car, which she didn't hesitate to squeal tires and peel out before his door was even shut.

"I tried calling Gerald to go, but he didn't answer, and I didn't have time to wait." She said heavily. "That reminds me." She reached behind her seat, fishing through her purse before handing Arnold a ticket.

Arnold took it, staring at it. "Phoebe…" He said in surprise. It was his plane ticket.

"Don't think anything of it; I knew you'd go so I got the ticket, no big deal. I knew you'd want to be by her side as much as I do."

Arnold looked at Phoebe, grateful to have a friend like her. "Thank you Phoebe." He breathed.

Phoebe just gave him a side glance with a small smile before returning her attention to the road.

Arnold hadn't even noticed his heart felt like it was slamming against his chest. He clutched the ticket to his heart, trying to steady himself.

Phoebe remembered that she had John's number and quickly dialed it. "John, it's Phoebe, Helga's friend. Yes, we're on our way to the airport now. It's another old friend of hers and myself. Okay, we'll see you in a few hours. Mhm, bye."

Phoebe shut her phone and tossed it in the backseat.

"She told me what happened." She said, almost matter of factly.

"Oh…she did?" He asked, almost embarrassed.

"Yes, don't worry Arnold, she'll get over it soon enough. And I'm sure you showing up at the hospital like her knight in shining armor may get you out of the dog house." She smirked and Arnold just shook his head with a smile.

They remained silent the rest of the ride. Phoebe tore into the parking lot, paid to park and they ran inside to security, knowing they only had about 30 minutes to get on the plane.

They finished up with security and charged through all of the terminals until they reached theirs. They were already boarding when they got there. They stood in line, handing over their tickets when needed and plopping down into their seats. They got lucky enough to be right next to each other.

Arnold took a deep breath, getting a bottled water for the ride. He didn't do well on planes.

"Calm down Arnold. The chances of a plane crash are in almost one in a billion. Or is it a million?" She started trying to remember the statistics, babbling to herself. She stopped when Arnold looked at her with the face of "You're really not helping here."

"Shutting up." She said, picking up a science magazine that was tucked into the pocket of her seat.

Arnold leaned against the window seat, staring at the wing. In any other instance, he probably would've just driven. But this was Helga, and he needed to get there as soon as he could.

He looked at his phone, staring at the screen. No messages, no missed calls. He almost hoped that he'd be getting a phone call from Helga, saying this was just a stupid joke, but he knew it wasn't.

Phoebe tried to distractedly read the magazine, but so many scenarios were running through her mind. She wanted to know who would want to shoot Helga. Maybe it was that old manager of hers that got frisky? She sighed, she wanted to call John again to get more details, but he was the only one at the hospital at the moment since Bob, Olga, and Miriam were all driving a four hour drive from Jacksonville to get there.

All she knew was that Helga's gunshot wound hadn't hit anything vital, and she was very lucky that it didn't, seeing as it hit her in the stomach.

She couldn't help but wonder though, how was Helga going to handle it when she came to? There was no chance she'd be fighting for the title in three weeks, that was impossible to recover that fast. She shook her head; then again this was Helga we were talking about. And Helga was about as stubborn as stubborn gets.

Another thought crossed her mind, how was Helga going to react to Arnold showing up? She'd either appreciate it, or hate it. She was sure she'd appreciate it, but she was going to be on pain killers and medication, so who was to say she wouldn't be pissed?

Phoebe glanced over at Arnold, who was absent mindedly staring at his phone. For his sake, she hoped that Helga would be happy.

**_*finally some action! i'm iffy about this chapter...hm...i'm not sure why. so, how's Helga going to react to Arnold at the hospital? It's hard to call with Helga G. Pataki. will she be mad, just to save face? or will she forgive him for coming all this way to be with her? we'll have to wait and see (; as always, leave questions, comments, and critique!*_**


	6. Chapter 6: The Bearer of Bad News

Arnold and Phoebe finally reached the hospital, meeting John in the front.

"How's she holding up?" Phoebe asked.

John rubbed the back of his head. "She's stable…but she's not going to like the news the doctor's gonna give her when she wakes up." He said, dreading it.

"Why?" Arnold chimed in.

"The doctor said there is no way possible she'll be able to fight for the championship in three weeks…" He shook his head, "All that hard work she put in…wasted. She'll lose it."

They were all silent, none of them wanting to be the one to tell her.

"I'm sure as hell not going to be the one to tell her. I'll leave that to the doctor. He can deal with that." John snorted, knowing how Helga can be.

Neither Arnold nor Phoebe blamed him though; they all felt the same way. Helga had been working for this since she'd started fighting, and now she couldn't even fight? She won't be happy, that's for sure.

The doctor came around the corner, looking for John. "You are Helga's trainer, correct?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from Helga's clip board.

"Yes sir, and these are two of her friends." He gestured towards Arnold and Phoebe.

"Hello." The doctor nodded in greeting before flipping a page over in his clipboard. "I just wanted to give you an update on Ms. Pataki. She's still resting, and we managed to get the bullet out with only minor issue."  
"Minor issue?" Arnold asked.

The doctor looked at him, nodding. "You all are more than welcome to go see her, but please try not to wake her; we want her to sleep for as long as possible so her stitches won't become agitated. Now if you'll excuse me." The doctor stuck his face back in his clipboard and hustled around the corner.

"I'll show you guys her room." John said walking down the hall, the two in tow behind him.

Arnold was hoping she'd sleep for a while, that way he could figure out an escape route in case she was outraged that he was there. Phoebe looked at him and noticed his almost stressed face. "Hey, don't worry. She'll probably be happy that you came all this way." She smiled, and Arnold smirked, knowing she wasn't sure herself how Helga was going to react.

When they reached the room, Arnold and Helga were a little surprised at how peaceful she looked. They had never seen someone who'd been shot, but they were expecting more tubes poking out of her or something. Not that they were complaining.

The three sat in the room, talking quietly, not trying to wake Helga.

After a few hours, Helga stirred, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her side and a choking feeling. She reached to her nose, noticing the breathing tubes. Her head bobbed around, her blurry vision trying to focus on where she was. She noticed three fuzzy bodies standing over her; she couldn't make out who they were. She shut her eyes again, trying to focus.

Arnold, Phoebe, and John were standing over Helga once they heard her groan. "I'll go get the doctor." John said, disappearing from the room.

After a few minutes, Helga's vision was clearing and she wasn't feeling so groggy. Phoebe and Arnold were still next to her bed, the two quickly stopping her from pulling out the tube and messing with her side.

She made a croaking noise, like she was trying to talk,  
waving her hands so they'd get away.

"Stop messing with it Helga." Phoebe said sternly.

"Where am I?" She said in a scratchy voice.

"You're in the hospital." Arnold answered.

Helga heard his voice and her head quickly turned to Arnold. "What are you doing here?" She asked, clearly surprised.

Arnold wasn't sure how to answer, but luckily John returned with the doctor before he needed to.

"Hello Ms. Pataki." The doctor said, walking next to the bed. Arnold and Phoebe backed away to give him some room.

"It's good to see you awake." He said, flipping a page over in his clipboard.

Helga just stared at him.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked, acknowledging she was probably still groggy from the drugs.

"Eric shot me." She said, remembering hearing the gun shot.

The doctor nodded, pulling the chair up and sitting, ready to explain everything they had to do. "The way the bullet entered you, we had to order an emergency surgery. Luckily, the bullet missed your vital organs so your surgery was as invasive as we could make it."

Helga seemed to be taking it in, not saying anything.

"Now for the bad news…" Phoebe, John, and Arnold backed up for this part.

"I'm afraid to due recovery, you won't be able to fight for quite some time."

Helga's eyes widened, she quickly sat up. "What? No, no there's no way. I have to fight in the championship." She suddenly seemed to be wide awake. She winced and touched her side.

The doctor's point was proven as soon as she did that. "Ms. Pataki, it will be impossible for you to fight, and if you even think about it, you would be threatening your wellbeing." The doctor was not playing games with Helga, and his voice made his stand very clear.

Everyone watched from afar as Helga and the doctor bickered back and forth on whether or not she could fight.

"Doctor Crowe, you won't need to worry about her fighting." John's voice chimed in and everyone's eyes were on him. "As her coach and manager I will not allow it."

Helga's jaw dropped. "Are you fucking serious John?!" She cried out, ignoring the fact that her pain meds were wearing off.

"I'm very serious Helga. I'm not going to let my best fighter endanger herself because of a silly championship. There will be one next year."

Helga felt her hands beginning to shake. "I want you all to get out." She said, her voice quivering. She could feel herself wanting to cry.

Everyone stood for a moment, a little surprised.

"OUT!" She yelled, slamming a fist down.

Everyone jumped and quickly left the room, except the doctor, who scribbled something down on the clipboard, stuck it in the sheet holder in her room, and then walked out.

Once everyone was out of the room she held her side, whimpering. Maybe that wasn't a good idea to freak out.

"Well," The doctor said, joining the group a little ways down the hall. "I wasn't expecting that to go any better."

John rubbed the back of his neck. "She's so pissed at me right now."

"She'll get over it I'm sure, she's probably a little more irate also for the fact that her pain medication is almost worn off, a nurse should be in there about now giving her another dose." He looked down at his clipboard again. "But I really must get to my other patients. Just so you all are aware, we don't have any specific visiting hours, you are just asked not to roam the hospital. I'm sure this won't be the last time we speak so until next time everyone." And before they knew it the doctor scuttled off.

John looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight and I know you guys are probably tired from the flight and everything, so I went ahead and put the two of you up in a hotel nearby for the night, separate rooms."

Phoebe and Arnold were clearly surprised. "Oh no, we couldn't possibly-" Phoebe was cut off by John waving his hand.

"Don't worry about it; consider it a thank you for flying out here." He said with a smile.

"Thank you so much." Phoebe said, very grateful.

"Yeah thank you John." Arnold shook John's hand, nodding.

"No worries." John said before turning to head down the hall. "Are you two leaving now?"

"I believe so," Phoebe peeked back in Helga's room and saw the nurse had already brought the other dose of pain medication so Helga was dozing off. "Helga's already asleep anyways."

Arnold turned and looked back into Helga's room. "You two go ahead, I think I'll stay a little while longer."

Phoebe and John looked at each other before shrugging. "See you in the morning then." They headed down the hall and Arnold went back inside Helga's room.

Phoebe and John walked in silence before John decided to ask the question he had been wanting to ask. "So," He cleared his throat. "What's up with those two?"

Phoebe smiled, shaking her head. "I'm not sure. They were crazy for each other when we were kids, but now they're both too stubborn to admit that they still are." She sighed.

"Ahh, that makes sense. I've been around Helga enough now to know she can be pretty hard headed."

"Oh trust me, I know." Phoebe snorted.

Arnold sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed, feeling awkwardly as he watched Helga sleep. Maybe he should've gone to the hotel with Phoebe. He sighed, what was he even doing here right now? He saw the look on Helga's face when she saw him in her hospital room.

Well, it was too late to turn back now, that was for sure.

Arnold crossed his arms and stretched his legs out, feeling the tiredness start to kick in.

He nodded off for a few minutes before he heard a shuffling noise from the hospital bed. He opened his eyes to see a dazed Helga struggling to get out of the hospital bed.

"Helga!" He said in a hushed, surprised voice. He knew it was late in the hospital, and didn't want nurses charging in the room. He stood up quickly and went over to her.

"Sod off Football Head." She slurred, wobbling once her feet hit the floor.

"Helga you're not supposed to be out of the bed. You're going to pull on your stitches." He urged, placing a hand on Helga's forearm gently.

"Don't you touch me." She jerked her hand back and stumbled a little. "I'm still mad at you." She glared at him with a half lidded gaze.

Arnold let out a frustrated sigh. "At least let me help you to the damn bathroom."

"No." She waved her hand, shooing him away.

"I'm not giving you a choice." He gently took her shoulder and her uninjured side in his grip and led her to the bathroom with surprisingly little resistance from Helga. Those meds really were making her loopy.

He led her to the toilet and she plopped down lazily, gesturing for him to leave so she could do her business. He waited outside the door until she was finished. After she finished he helped her back to the bed.

Helga struggled to get in the bed, and Arnold gently helped her up and pulled the covers up to her hip, so not to disturb her side.

"Thanks Football Head…" She mumbled, lifting a tired hand up to point at him. "But I'm still mad." She slurred, turning back over and quickly falling back asleep.

Arnold couldn't help but smile as he sat back down.

Now he was definitely glad he stayed. If no one was in here when Helga was being her foolish independent self, she could've gotten really hurt.

He couldn't help but wonder what the wound looked like. The doctor had said something about the way the gun went off and they had to cut more than what they had wanted.

He felt bad for Helga, seeing as she had been training so long for this championship fight, and now, because of an idiot, she had to wait another year before competing in it.

Helga lazily rolled a little in her bed and Arnold smiled, she didn't look so stressed when she slept, but that could just be the meds. Either way, he enjoyed not having her yelling at him for something he did.

He hoped that once Helga cooled down and forgave him, maybe they could calmly talk and he could apologize. He really did regret drinking that night after he promised her he wouldn't, but she left so quickly and was so angry he didn't get a chance to.

Arnold looked at his phone's screen, it was almost one in the morning, and maybe he should head to the hotel now.

He stood up and headed towards the door, looking at a sleeping Helga again. "Goodnight Helga." He smiled, leaving the room.

**_*I'm going to start off by saying I'm so sorry for this delay everyone. midterms have started for the semester and not only have I been studying and typing two ten page papers and working six days a week right now, but I've been sick for the past two weeks to the point where I get home, take my medicine and pass out. but i'm feeling much better and finished up the outline for one of my papers so hopefully I'll be back to one or two chapters a week starting this week. thank you all so much for your patience, and I really hope that this chapter is up to par. If there's anything I could fix or work on, please let me know. as always please leave reviews, questions, or comments for me and I'll be more than happy to answer them. And again thank you guys so much for understanding that this is a hobby and comes after my other responsibilities. Love you guys! (: xoxo*_**


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